Birthday Surprise
by Rose Duchess
Summary: It's their 18th birthday and they both want to get something off of their chest since an incident in the war. Will both of them show their feelings and how will the other react? Shikaino for their birthdays. Hint of sexuality.
1. Shikamaru's View

**This is my tribute two-shot of both Shikamaru and Ino's birthdays. This is Shikamaru's side of the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

Shikamaru's side

Around three in the afternoon, on the outskirts of Konoha, a young man with a spiky ponytail was headed towards the village. He had on a dark green Jounin vest, signifying his status as Jounin Commander. Shikamaru had just returned from Suna for a week- long mission to attend a discussion of the Shinobi alliance and where it stands after the war had ended.

"_This is so troublesome, I'm gone for a week to Suna, only to be needed for a day and I missed my birthday. I don't usually like parties, but I know Choji throws me and Ino one every year. I hope that he isn't too disappointed that I couldn't make it_." He solemnly thought to himself as he got closer to the village.

Yesterday was his eighteenth birthday, but he couldn't be home for it. He at least made it back in time to celebrate Ino's birthday which is today. He also had hoped to speak with her about a certain thing that happened during the war.

Flashback (Shikamaru's POV)

"_Troublesome, I can barely move_," I thought as I lay on the ground while Choji was holding my head. I was drained of chakra from the God tree of the Juubi and I thought I might die. All seemed hopeless when Hashirama's words could not encourage the other shinobi. But then I felt through Ino's jutsu, Naruto's thoughts and memories. I saw how Naruto regretted about not bringing back Sasuke, how he had suffered through his childhood, Asuma's funeral; the one I never attended and how he was determined to end the war.

As Ino worked to heal me, I heard her nearly sob, she was holding back tears as she said to me, "Please Shika, I already lost a lot; our teacher and my father, and I can't lose you too."

"_Shika? She hasn't called me that since we were kids,_" I thought as he lay on the ground. I felt her healing me because Ino had asked Sakura to let her heal me. Then I suddenly felt something wet hit my cheek, I struggled to open my eyes but I could tell by her quiet sniffling that she was crying, no longer holding back her tears. I don't want her to cry so I did the only thing I could think of; I cupped her cheek and wiped her tears away.

"Troublesome woman, you know I hate to see you cry," I tried to comfort her.

Then something happened that I didn't expect nor did Choji for that matter; she held my face in her hands and kissed me on the lips. I was so dumbfounded that my mind went blank, my heart was pounding and I liked it. I responded to her kiss until we pulled apart and I looked in her eyes.

Ino then said, relieved, "Don't scare me like that again, Shika."

I smiled and replied, "Sure, now let's finish this war." Then I continued my job as strategist by coming up with a strategy by watching Naruto and Sasuke attack the tree.

End flashback and POV

After that, they never really brought it up again nor have we talked about it. The only other witness of that kiss was Choji but he knew it was between the two of them.

Then he thought, "_It's not like I didn't like it, I personally wanted to kiss her for years but I didn't think it would happen like that_."

This has been on his mind for almost a year now and he can't take it anymore. He couldn't take this gnawing feeling in his heart. Ever since they were Genin, he fell in love with her but he never told her his feelings because he thought she was still hung up on Sasuke.

"_Well, since it would be troublesome to leave this issue unresolved, I'm going to tell Ino I love her_," Shikamaru thought as he gripped a present in his pocket.

He didn't even notice a presence in the trees that suddenly flashed away. He went through the gates, greeted Izumo and Kotetsu and went to the Hokage tower to report to Lady Tsunade Then he thought of going home to take a nap.

"_That's weird, it's so quiet, maybe Mom is out_?" he thought as he approached his house.

He opened the door, and stepped through when suddenly a lot of people shouted, "Surprise!"

He was surprised all right when he asked what he now saw was the Rookie 9 and remaining members of Team Guy, "Why did you do this? My birthday was yesterday."

"We know that Shikamaru, but I always throw a party for both you and Ino, so enjoy it," Choji answered his best friend.

Shikamaru smirked and replied, "Thanks Choji, this means a lot to me."

Then he talked with everyone else and talked about what has happened until he spotted Ino in the kitchen with his mother

"Hey Ino, did you help Choji with this?" he smiled as she blushed.

She replied, embarrassed of the question, "Well, we celebrate our birthdays together and I knew you would get home today, so we planned it yesterday."

He smiled, not a smirk, but a genuine smile at her, then he went to her and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, Ino," he whispered in her ear.

Then he talked with her without it being tense between them and he had to admit that he missed talking with her and was glad that she was talking like herself. After they ate, they had the cake out that says "Happy Birthday, Shikamaru and Ino," on it. They blew out the candles together Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at her excitement. Since it was officially her birthday, he let her open her presents first. He saw that she loved a lot of the presents she got and he knew that there was a sparkle in her eyes whenever she was happy.

Then he opened his presents and thanked his friends, only he noticed that he didn't receive one from Ino until she approached him and asked him, "Can we talk in your room?"

He was a bit confused and he thought that she was a bit nervous; she was never nervous but he answered, "Sure."

They went up to his room and he closed the door behind them and they sat on his bed. There was a tense silence so he asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

He saw that she was fiddling with something in her pocket before pulling it out. She had his present in her hand, then she said, "Before I give you your present, I just wanted to tell you something that has been on my mind. In the war, I was really scared that you could have died that day. It may have been almost a year ago and now it is your birthday, which I thought you would never experience your eighteenth birthday. I'm relieved that you survived and now you are eighteen, I hope you can experience more birthdays with us, with me."

He was shocked; he didn't know she felt scared of losing him, that she was still holding that bit of information from him.

He smiled and patted her shoulder saying, "Don't worry Ino, I'm still here and I wouldn't leave you or anyone else. Thank you for telling me that."

Ino smiled her biggest smile that he loved and handed him his present saying, "Happy Birthday, Shika."

It was a thin rectangular box wrapped in blue wrapping paper and a blue ribbon. He unwrapped it slowly and opened the box to reveal a silver chain with a silver pendant shaped like the symbol of his clan.

She said to him, "I hope you don't think its too girly or anything…I just,"

He cut her off by giving her a hug and he replied, "I really like it Ino, thank you."

So he took it out and he tried to clip it on, he doesn't usually wear necklaces so he had trouble putting it on when he heard Ino ask, "Need help?"

He rolled his eyes but he nodded so he let her clip around his neck and she proclaimed, "It looks nice on you, Shika."

"Thanks and don't think that I forgot you," Shikamaru replied as he took Ino's present and gave it to her.

"Thank you, Shika," she exclaimed excitedly.

He watched as she tore the paper and opened the box and then she gasped, "Shika, it's beautiful."

Ino's present was a necklace also but hers had a heart pendant with sapphires outlining the pendant. She was admiring it before Shikamaru said, "Look on the other side, Ino."

Ino flipped it around to see that there was an engraving that shocked her, on that side it said, "Ino, I love you."

"Shika? Is that true?" Ino asked.

Shikamaru was really nervous now but he answered truthfully, "Yes, I wanted to tell you that for a long time. I wanted to tell you after you kissed me in the battle but it never came up. I understand if you don't feel the same way, I just wanted to get it off my chest."

He feared the rejection that he thought would come but it didn't. Instead, he found himself embraced by a crying Ino.

Confused he asked, "Ino why are you crying?"

She replied to him, "I'm crying because I'm happy that you love me, that's because I love you too."

His eyes widened but then he had a smile on his face as he wiped the tears from her eyes. He took the necklace and put it around her neck and he admired how it made her even more beautiful than ever. Then he asked, "Will you be my girlfriend, Ino?"

Ino gave her biggest smile ever and exclaimed, "Of course, Shika!"

Then he stroked her cheek, gazed into her eyes, and leaned in to softly capture her lips with his and in an instant, there were fireworks. There was no better way to describe it as far he was concerned. Then he was surprised when he felt her tongue on his lips to ask for entry, he smirked and gave her permission and he was wrestling with her tongue. It was so passionate that they found themselves lying on his bed with him hovering over her still ravenously kissing her. Finally, after at least two minutes they broke apart for air, he was just looking in her eyes with a loving gaze.

He kissed her forehead and whispered, "Happy Birthday Ino, I love you."

He admitted that he didn't expect to have Ino as his girlfriend after confessing his feelings but he was happy that she accepted his feelings. This was certainly a pleasant surprise for him and the best birthday present he could ever receive.

Then he felt Ino kiss his neck and he shuddered in pleasure as she was leaving open-mouthed kisses on his neck.

"Shika, do you know what else I want for my birthday?" she asked as she stared up at him seductively and then she unzipped his flak jacket and caressed his chest through his shirt.

He smirked and thought, "_Well, it still is her birthday after all_."

Then he locked his bedroom door with his shadows and then gave her what she wanted and evidently what he always wanted to do.

**This is the first part, Ino's side will be up tomorrow on her birthday. Please feel free to leave a review, I hope you like it. Happy Birthday, Shikamaru!**


	2. Ino's View

**Here is Ino's side of the story. I hope you like it.**

**Dismlaimer: I don't own the characters, Masashi Kishimoto does.**

Ino's side

Ino was at Shikamaru's house helping prepare for the surprise birthday party for both of their birthdays. She remembered that Shikamaru said that he wouldn't make it on his birthday but he said he would make it on her birthday.

"Well, everything seems ready, I'm going to check if he is home yet, Yoshino-san," Ino said to his mother who helped prepare for the party.

"Sure sweetie, I'll wait here for your friends for the party, he may not show it all of the time, but he does appreciate everything you do," she replied honestly.

"I know he does, which is why I want to tell him how I feel," Ino unknowingly replied out loud.

"Well, you better do it now or he'll never know, he is a brilliant young man and I love him but he can be a bit dense when it comes to romance; he's just like his father." Yoshino playfully replied to her ambition.

Ino blushed because her best friend's mother knew of her feelings and she didn't even directly tell her that she had feelings for her son. So she went towards the gate to see if he arrived home like he said he would.

"_I hope that I can be clear with my feelings, it was awkward between us when I just kissed him when he woke up on the battlefield_," she reflected.

Flashback (Ino's POV)

"_I don't know if we can make it out of this_," I thought as I was relaying Lord First's words; the shinobi weren't inspired but then suddenly I feel a rush memories that were not my own; they were Naruto's. I had no idea that he had such a bad childhood growing up, if I had known that, maybe I could have been a bit nicer to him earlier. I also saw Asuma-sensei's funeral through his eyes and he even though he had a rough time growing up, he was still willing to fight even if all hope seemed lost. So I saw him and Sasuke-k.., no Sasuke attack the tree as I tried to heal Shikamaru.

"Please Shika, I already lost a lot; our teacher and my father, and I can't lose you too." I said to him, I wanted to cry but I knew I couldn't cry now.

It was getting harder to hold them back, because I look down at him, so weak and exhausted that I couldn't take it anymore. I let a few tears drop, some had landed on his cheek, I couldn't help it; I was so scared that he might die if I couldn't heal him. But then I felt a hand caress my left cheek, wiping away my tears, I looked down and sure enough, Shikamaru was awake.

"Troublesome woman, you know I hate to see you cry," he said to me.

It was his way of trying to comfort me, but at the moment, I was so relieved and happy that he was awake that I grabbed his face and planted a kiss on his lips. I honestly didn't know what made me do it, but I didn't care; all that mattered was that he was alright and awake. I had to admit that I wondered what it would be like if I kissed him and to put it bluntly, it was intoxicating. He responded to me a little bit before I pulled away and wiped my eyes.

"Don't scare me like that again, Shika," I said to him in relief.

He smiled at me and said, "Sure, now let's finish this war."

So I watched as the battle was getting more intense and he was trying to think of a strategy.

End Flashback and POV

It was so awkward between the two of them that they never had a chance to talk about it since the Rookie 9 and Team Guy had been promoted to Jounin. She would work at the Intelligence Unit, taking her father's place and she also managed the flower shop herself since she owns it now.

"_I admit that I had feelings for Shikamaru when we were kids but I tried to forget them when I was attracted to Sasuke, but that was all that was, an attraction_." Ino thought to herself as she hid herself in the trees waiting to spot Shikamaru.

Ino had realized that the bond she shares with Shikamaru ran deeper than a platonic friendship or a brother-sister bond; she admitted to herself that she fell in love with the lazy Jounin years ago but hadn't comprehended it.

She then spotted him coming up the path towards the gate, he stopped for a minute and to her, he looked like he was contemplating something. Since she found him, she quickly went away from the area before he sensed her and went back to his house to wait for him.

When she got back, all of the guests that she had invited were there even Sasuke because she knew that Sakura dragged him to come but he didn't complain. Naruto and Hinata came together since they were dating since the war; to which she was happy for them. So she kept peeking out the window until she saw him come up the path to his house so she told everyone to get ready to surprise him.

When he came through the door, she and everyone else shouted, "Surprise!" She giggled as she saw the surprised look on his face. Then he went ahead and talked with the others, them saying to him, "Happy Birthday" and talked of recent missions. She slipped in the kitchen to maybe help Yoshino with the cake.

"Have you told him yet, dear?" Yoshino asked amusingly.

"No, I thought he would greet the others first, and then I'll talk to him," Ino told her.

Then she saw him come toward her and he asked her, "Hey Ino, did you help Choji with this?"

Ino blushed but she answered him, "Well, we celebrate our birthdays together and I knew you would get home today, so we planned it yesterday."

What came next, was not what she expected, he came closer to her and planted a kiss on her cheek and she heard him whisper, "Thanks, Ino."

Needless to say, she was bright red in the face and her heart was fluttering while Yoshino was smiling at her and when Ino looked back at her, Yoshino winked at her; which caused her to turn even redder.

But as the party went on, they had talked together and she was relieved that there wasn't any tension between them, almost like old times. Then when they finished and they blew out the candles on their cake, they ate some cake. Then they started opening their presents, well she was opening hers, Shikamaru was waiting for her to finish. Then he opened his and they both said their thanks to everyone.

"_Maybe now I can talk with him_," she thought.

So she approached him and asked him nervously, "Can we talk in your room?"

He had a confused look on his face but he answered, "Sure."

So they went up to his room and he opened the door for her to let her through first then she went to sit on top of his bed and he soon followed, sitting next to her. Then it was silent between them and she didn't know how to start.

Before she could get out a word Shikamaru asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

Ino was really nervous as she played with the present in her pocket and then she took it out and held it in her hand.

Trying to work through her nervousness, she started with, "Before I give you your present, I just wanted to tell you something that has been on my mind. In the war, I was really scared that you could have died that day. It may have been almost a year ago and now it is your birthday, which I thought you would never experience your eighteenth birthday. I'm relieved that you survived and now you are eighteen, I hope you can experience more birthdays with us, with me."

She waited for a response and what she got was one of his rare genuine smiles and he patted her on her shoulder.

He then said to her, "Don't worry Ino, I'm still here and I wouldn't leave you or anyone else. Thank you for telling me that."

Ino felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders and heart and now she was a bit more like her confident self again, so she handed him her present.

With a smile she said to him, "Happy Birthday, Shika."

She watched as he carefully unwrapped the paper and opened the box, he had a look of surprise on his face and she was wondering if maybe he didn't like it.

"I hope you don't think that it's too girly or anything…I just," but she didn't get to finish her sentence because she felt his arms around her making her feel warm.

"I really like it Ino, thank you," Shikamaru told her honestly.

She was happy that he liked it and she stifled a giggle when she watched him try to clip it on himself.

"Need help?" Ino asked playfully as she saw him roll his eyes.

She clipped the necklace on into place around his neck and she liked how it looked on him, it suited him in her opinion.

"It looks nice on you, Shika," she voiced her opinion to him.

"Thanks and don't think I forgot you," Shikamaru replied to her and handed her present to her.

"Thanks, Shika!" she was happy that he didn't forget her but she knew he didn't forget.

She was excited so she just tore through the purple wrapping paper as she saw it and opened the box to reveal a heart shaped pendant with sapphires outlining it. She was nearly speechless, she never thought that he would ever give her a gift like this.

She then said breathlessly, "Shika, it's beautiful."

"Look on the other side, Ino," she heard him say as she admired it.

Curious, she flipped it over and gasped again when she read an engraving that said, "Ino, I love you".

She had to ask, "Shika? Is that true?"

She was so shocked yet so elated that he felt he same way as she heard his answer.

"Yes, I wanted to tell you that for a long time. I wanted to tell you after you kissed me in the battle but it never came up. I understand if you don't feel the same way, I just wanted to get it off my chest," he answered her question.

She was so happy that tears had started to fall and she wrapped her arms around him tightly, letting the tears flow to express how happy she was.

Shikamaru asked her, "Ino, why are you crying?"

"I'm crying because I'm happy that you love me, that's because I love you too," she exclaimed happily.

The she saw as he took her necklace and put it around her neck and smiled at her asking, "Will you be my girlfriend, Ino?"

She smiled up at him and replied, "Of course, Shika!"

She looked into his eyes and saw all of the emotions he was expressing as she felt him stroke her cheek and leaned down to meet her lips in a passionate kiss that made her shudder in pleasure. She would describe it as one explosion, making her heart swell with love and excitement. She traced her tongue on his lips to ask entry she was granted permission when she felt him smirk against her lips. Then they were clashing with their tongues and then she felt him bring her down on his bed, still kissing him, hungering for his taste. They parted and she looked in his eyes and saw the love in his eyes.

"Happy Birthday Ino, I love you," Shikamaru whispered to her after kissing her forehead.

She was so happy that he loves her and no words could describe the feelings she had right now. Then she felt that she wanted more of his love and to prove how much she loves him too. She went up a bit to his neck and kissed it, leaving many open-mouthed kisses on his neck. She smiled as she felt him shudder because of her kisses.

"Shika, do you know what else I want for my birthday?" she asked him.

She unzipped his flak jacket and felt his muscles on his chest admiring how he is had strong muscles.

"_He is well-built, I have to say_," Ino thought to herself.

Her answer was given in the form of a click of a lock, and a smirk on his face and then he came down on her and engaged her with a hungry kiss. Then she got what she wanted, what she always wanted and she could definitely say that this was her best birthday ever.

**Well, that's it. Thanks for reading this two-shot, I liked writing it and I hope you liked it too. Please feel free to review. Happy Birthday, Ino!**


End file.
